Single sheet delivery device for web fed press



Aug. 5, 1958 L. M. STEMPEL SINGLE SHEET DELIVERY DEVICE FOR WEB FEDPRESS Filed June 24, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 H 6cm INVENTOR. 3 2L0 M-STEMPE/L ATTORNEY Aug. 5, 1958 1.. M. STEMPEL 2,846,046

SINGLE SHEET DELIVERY DEVICE FOR WEB FED PRESS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJune 24, 1954 I; INVENTOR.

1.93s 2,1,0 MSTEMPEL BY Mu} RAW.

A ToRNEYs M. STEMPEL Aug. 5, 1958 SINGLE SHEET DELIVERY DEVICE FOR WEBFED PRESS Filed June 24. 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR' m u M- NPEL MMAJQ ATTORNEYS ilnited States 2,846,046 Patented Aug. 5, 1958 lice SINGLESHEET DELIVERY DEVICE FOR WEB FED PRESS Laszlo M. Stenipel, Metuchen, N.3., assignor to John Wmdron Corporation, New Brunswick, N. J., acorporation of New Jersey Application June 24, 1954, Serial 1110.439,121

6 Claims. (Cl. 19831) This invention relates to printing presses andmore particularly to high speed web fed presses which cut the printedweb into sheets and stack them.

it is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel andimproved printing press of the type defined.

More particularly it is an object of the invention to provide in aprinting press of the character described mechanism for delivering to aseparate point, a single sheet from a position immediately following thecutter without disrupting the stacking operation.

An important object of the invention relates to the use of mechanismwhich upon manual initiation automatically opens a sheet diverter at theappropriate time, closes it and resets and locks the mechanism ready forfurther use.

Another object of the invention comprises the arrangement of a secondpull roll assembly for acting on the leading end of the web prior tocutting in a manner identical to that of the main pull roll assembly,both being driven at a higher peripheral speed than the roll deliveringthe web to the cutter but provided with less nip.

Another important object of the invention consists in the arrangement ofa diverter trap door in the web supporting plate extending between thecutter and the main pull roll adapted, when open, to deflect theadvancing uncut web end to a lower level and into the nip of a secondarypull roll.

Here an important feature resides in mechanism for closing the divertertrap door before the trailing end of the freshly cut sheet passesthrough its controlled opening, which latter is larger than the door, toready the web supporting plate for the rapidly following lead edge ofthe web.

Still another important feature of the invention resides in theprovision of manual means for disabling the single sheet deliveryfeature of the device to adjust it for continuous delivery ahead of thesheet stacker.

Among the other important features of the invention may be listed:

Mechanism for insuring uniform sheet length.

Single stroke, resetting mechanism for diverting a single sheet subjectto the same uniform sizing feature.

The use of independent springs, one for raising the diverter trap doorand the other to maintain the cam follower against the cam when thefirst is immobilized.

Other and further objects and features of the invention will be moreapparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of theaccompanying drawings and following specification, wherein is discloseda single exemplary embodiment of the invention, with the understandingthat such changes and modifications may be made therein as fall withinthe scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the single sheet delivery device looking fromthe discharge end of a web fed printing press;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, vertical section of the sheet severing andsingle sheet delivery portion of a web fed printing press taken on theplane of line 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a framentary, longitudinal vertical section taken on the planeof line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows and showingthe trap door operating cam and cam follower;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the manual initiating lever, the lever andtrap door actuating spring and the cam driven cross-shaft; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of the manual lever shown insolid lines in the locked or non-delivery position and in dotted linesat the position of maximum automatic displacement.

In the operation of high speed, web-fed, rotary printing presses ofeither the offset or intaglio impression type, it is often the practiceto incorporate in or following the mechanism of the press, means forsevering the printed web into sheets at appropriate positionscoordinated with and between the printing impressions thereon, and tostack the cut sheets. As the speeds of the presses have been increasedto the almost incredible one of 25,000 sheets per hour in multi-colorand on one or both sides of the web, several problems have arisen inconnection with the cutting and stacking of the sheets, and the presentinvention is directed to the solutions thereof. Perhaps the main troubleresults from the use of relatively thin papers which are hard tomaintain fiat while advancing, cutting and delivering because of theirtendency to float or glide in the air, curl on the edges, bend up ordown at the corners and otherwise flutter and deviate from their desiredcourses.

In the copending application of Pomper and Waechter, Serial. No.365,376, filed July 1, 1953, now Patent 2,769,495, granted November 6,1956, is disclosed apparatus for cutting the printed web, delivering andstacking the sheets, and the present invention may be used with suchapparatus or with other satisfactory cutting and stacking devices. Itdeals primarily with the taking of single sample sheets from the pressfollowing the cut ting operation and without disturbing the deliveringand stacking mechanism. As an ancillary feature means are provided toinsure uniform length of the sheets by applying a definite predeterminedtension to the web for the cutting operation. This same tension isapplied whether the sheets are advancing to the stack or being deliveredfor test samples by the single sheet delivery mechanism.

The apparatus shown in the several figures of the drawing relates onlyto the mechanism near the cutting and delivery end of the printingpress, and there is shown at W a reach of the web rising substantiallyvertically and in its finished condition as regards printing,perforating, slitting or the like and ready for transverse cutting andstacking. This web passes over the first feed or pull roll 10 forhorizontal delivery therefrom and hence has approximately a contacttherewith to insure a uniform rate of pulling without slippage, thecontact being augmented by the pull wheels or idlers 11, preferablyrubber tired and bearing at least near the edges of the web. They may bespring pressed to insure adequate engagement pressure.

The leading edge of the web W advances over the two spaced parts 12 and13 of the web supporting plate, which is substantially horizontal, asshown, and beneath the knife cylinder 15. In so doing the web passesover the cutting edge of the ledger plate or stationary knife blade 16,mounted between the parts of the supporting plate, and which cooperateswith the movable blade 17 mounted in the cutting cylinder 15. Thiscylinder is timed to rotate in proper respect to the pull roll and theprinting on the web, to cut off the desired length of sheet, all asdisclosed in the above noted application. The length of sheet to be cutis in every case more than the distance between the edge of the ledgerplate and the nip of the second pull roll 18 positioned behind thecutting position. Thus the web is tightly held between the nip of feedroll 10 and that of pull roll 18. This latter roll is of steel anddriven at a peripheral speed of the order of higher than that of pullroll 10. The nip, however, or contact is of the minimum and the tensionof the idler wheels 19 is not high. Under thesecircumstances when theleading edge of the web reaches roll 18 it is put under a uniformtension and maintained thus as long as it is intact between the tworolls, slippage occurring at 18 only because of its lesser nip.

When the web is cut between blades 16 and 17 the leading edge of theremaining portion is advanced at its standard rate by feed roll 10 whilethe trailing edge of the cut sheet moves away from it under the superiorspeed of roll 18, carrying the cut sheet above the stack 20 on the pileboard, where it is caused to be piled up, preferably in the mannerdefined in the earlier identified application. The use of a large nipfeed roll and a more rapidly advancing second pull roll of less nipinsures extreme accuracy in length of the sheets successively cut fromthe web since the tension of the web at the time of cutting is alwaysthe same.

In many cases it is highly desirable to be able to extract a singlesheet for inspection of the quality of the work being currently done bythe press, but because of the arrangement of the stacking mechanism manyparts are in the way, and to reach in and grab a sheet moving at suchhigh speed would be not only difficult but even dangerous, and certainlydisrupting to the operation of the stacking mechanism, so means isprovided permitting the operator to obtain a single sheet or a pluralitydelivered ahead of the stacking mechanism without interrupting itsoperation or changing the length of the cut sheet.

For the purpose of this feature of the invention the web supportingplate 13 is provided with a diverting trap door 22 having a flat topsurface 23 substantially coincident with the top surface of plate 13 inits normal or closed position. However, upon initiation of a samplingoperation, which will later be described, the forward edge of the trapdoor is lifted, as the advancing edge of the web approaches, and adiverter guide plate 24 on the under side thereof directs this edge ofthe web downwardly into the nip of secondary pull roll 26 and itscooperating idler wheels 27. Roll 26 has the same peripheral speed asroll 18, plus less nip than roll 10, so that it acts exactly as roll 18in maintaining the same uniform tension on the web prior to and duringcutting. It also carries the sample sheet away more rapidly than theadvancing edge of the web from which it has just been cut. As the sheetleaves'the downwardly inclined nip of rolls 26 and 27 it is deposited inan appropriate container or the like occupying space just forward of thepile board and the rear guides 28 for the cut sheets from which it isreadily removable manually.

Referring now to Fig. 1, an elevational view of the important elementsof the invention dealing with the trap door and associated mechanism,the machine will be seen to be assembled between proper side frames 30and 31 of any desired construction, forming continuations of the sideframes of the printing mechanism. In them are journalled all of therolls, cylinders, shafts and the like illustrated in the presentinvention, but most of them, including all of the paper handling rollsand the cutting cylinder, have been omitted from this figure for thesake of clarity. Longitudinally adjustably secured in each side frame isstud 32 having an enlarged end housing non-friction bearing 33, theinner race of which receives the trun- I nion 34 which with itscompanion form the pivot for the trap door assembly 22.

These trunnions extend from lugs 35 secured to the top plate 23 of thetrap door and to the side flanges 36 which reinforce and stiifen thesame. Conveniently the forward portion of top plate 23 is bent anddirected backwardly and downwardly to form the web diverter portion 24which may be continuous or in the form of strips, as desired, for thesake of lightness since the trap door must be moved at high speed. Thetrunnions 34 are positioned above the level of the plate 23 and-mountedat such a height as to hold this level substantially in alignment withthe web supporting plate 13. These fulcrum studs 34 are closely adjacentthe nip between pull roll 18 and its rubber tired wheels 19, as seen inFig. 2. while the leading edge 37 of the trap door is slightly spacedfrom the rear edge of plate 13, as seen at 38. This is so the trap doorcan be closed before the trailing edge of the sheet in the nip of roll26 and wheel 27 is completely clear of the trap door opening. By thismeans the door can be closed promptly, ready to guide the advancing endof the web to the stacking mechanism after a single sheet has beenremoved from beneath the trap door. The diverter 24 is properly angledto permit this operation.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the trap door is adapted to be lifted by apair of lift links 40, one at either side, connected by appropriatebearings and studs to lugs 40 secured to the side flanges 36 of the trapdoor assembly about midway of its length in the direction of web travel.

The upper ends of the lift links 40 are respectively pivoted to the endsof levers 41 and 42 on opposite sides of the machine. The hubs 41' and42' of levers 41 and 42 are secured to rock shaft 43 by the pins shown,and this shaft is journalled in the side frames for rocking motion,which it will be appreciated lifts and then closes the trap door in amanner which will be obvious from Fig. 2, the dotted line positionshowing the maximum opening of the trap door and the full line positionshowing its closed position for permitting delivery of sheets to thestacker.

The two levers 41 and 42 move in unison with the rock shaft 43 and arebiased upwardly by means of the substantially vertical spring VS theupper end of which bears against a flat surface and surrounds stud 44 onlever 41 near its pivot to link 40, while the lower end of the springsurrounds stud 45 and bears on the head 46 of its carrying screwthreaded into a plug 47 carried by the side frame of the machine. Thisscrew permits adjusting the amount of compression of the spring todetermine the rate of trap door lift.

Lever 41 and its companion 42 are held in the position shown in Fig. 2with the spring VS strongly compressed by interengagement betweentransverse pin 50 at the outer end of lever 41 and the closely fittingwalls of the open ended slot 52 in the end of the short horizontal lever53 mounted on stub-shaft 54 journalled in the side frame 30, as bestseen in Fig. 4. On the outside of the frarne'a hand lever 58 is securedto shaft 54 by appropriate set screws 59 or other device. In normaloperation the lever is horizontal, as shown in Fig. 5, and its free endis fitted with a transverse handle 60 having at its inner end a pinlikeextension 61 slidable through a bore 62 in the enlarged end of thelever. Counterbore 63 receives a helical compression spring 64 hearingagainst a collar 65 on the part 61 to hold the handle drawn down withits shoulder 66 against the side of the lever. This projects the innerend 67 of the pin into a hole 68 in the side frame and the interlockingof these parts holds the lever in its normal position and maintains thebias on the spring VS in an obvious manner.

A second cross shaft 72 is journalled between the frames 30, 31 atapproximately the level of rock shaft 43 but toward the direction of thecutter cylinder therefrom, and this shaft mounts a cam or eccentric 73driven by gears (not shown) in unison with the rest of the pressmechanism, one revolution for each sheet cut. Loosely mounted forrelative rotation on rock shaft 43 is hub 75 carrying, on a short lever76, a stud 77 on which is mounted the non-friction bearing 78 and thecam follower roller 79, which bears on the periphery of the cam 73.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the hub 75 has an arm 82 projecting therefromradially and in the direction of hub 42' and terminated in a pad 83 forcooperation with complemental pad 84 carried by an arm 85 extending inthe opposite direction from hub 42 so that the two pads confront. In pad84 is secured a stud 86 which extends loosely through an enlarged hole87 in pad 83 and supports the substantially horizontal spring HS ofgreater strength than spring VS and able to overcome it in spite of adifference in lever arms. This spring HS is adjustable in compression bya suitable nut and lock nut assembly 88.

When, in normal operation of the press, the pin on hand lever 58 isengaged in hole 68 in the frame, the lever 41 and the cross shaft 43 areheld in the position shown in Fig. 2, maintaining the bias on spring VSand holding the trap door closed. Under these circumstances the springHS is cyclically flexed by the movement of the assemblage of hub 75,lever 76, its cam follower 79, the arm 82 and its pad 83, whereby thecam follower continuously bears on the surface of the eccentric cam asthe press is in operation. Movement of pad 83 is from substantialengagement with pad 84 to the maximum separation effected by theeccentricity of the cam.

If the operator desires to remove a single sheet for inspection, hepulls outwardly on handle 60, withdrawing pin end 67 from the hole 68 inthe frame. The handle end of the lever will then be lifted under theaction of spring VS as the cam follower rides the descending surface ofthe cam to its low point. As the follower begins to move in a directionaway from the center of cam shaft 72 by following the rise of the cam,pad 83 is moved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 andthe stud 86 and spring HS cause the pad 84 to move with it, carryinglever 41 in a counterclockwise direction, compressing lesser strengthspring VS, lowering pin 50 and returning hand lever 58 to the horizontalposition where its spring pressed pin will snap into the frame aperture68 to lock the system at the end of one cycle.

Should it be desired to obtain more than a single sheet by means of thetrap door route, the operator merely lifts the handle 60 and holds itup. If he desires, he may draw it slightly beyond the position it wouldassume when the cam low point engages the follower, and permits the pinon the handle to enter the second opening 90 in the frame. This willmaintain the trap door open continuously but as soon as the handle iswithdrawn to release the pin from hole 90 the lever drops at least tothe dotted position shown at 91 and at the end of the cam stroke returnsto and is locked in the normal position.

Thus the apparatus achieves both the accurate length cutting of thesheets and the possibility of semi-automatic delivery of one or moresample sheet without disrupting the cutting and stacking mechanism.

I claim:

1. Diverter mechanism for articles travelling over a surface at auniform rate and spacing under the action of delivery means including incombination, a diverter gate; means mounting said gate for movement toeither of two article guiding positions; means biasing said gate 6.toward one of said positions; means resisting said bias and holding thegate in the other of said positions; a cam timed to rotate once for eacharticle passing said gate; a spring; means actuated by said cam to flexsaid spring; means connecting said spring to apply an overriding forcein opposition to said bias once per revolution of said cam; and means tomanually release said gate holding means. 7

2. Mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said means resisting saidbias comprises latched means to hold said gate in said other position; acam follower; a pivoted lever acting to connect said spring to applysaid force in opposition to said bias; and means connecting said springto maintain said follower against said cam irrespective of the leverposition.

3. The invention of claim 2 in which a link connects said lever to saidgate remote from its mounting means; said bias acts on said lever tourge the gate toward said one position and the latched means holds thelever to position the gate in the other position; said spring beingcompressed by said lever to urge said cam follower against said cam atall times.

4. The invention of claim 3 in which a latch on the latched meanscooperates with a first keeper to hold the gate in said other position,a second keeper for the latch for securing the latched means in aposition to hold the gate in the biased position continuously, saidsecond keeper being slightly beyond the reach of the latch when thelatched means is moved automatically for one stroke by said cam.

5. The invention of claim 3 in which the said spring is of suflicientstrength to overpower said bias whereby said cam acts through thefollower, said spring, the lever and the lift link to return the gate tothe other 'of said positions against said bias.

6. Diverter mechanism for articles travelling over a substantiallyhorizontal surface at a uniform rate and spacing under the action ofdelivery means including in combination, a trap door normally closing anopening in said surface; means hinging said trap door adjacent an edgeremote from the approaching articles; a lever pivoted on a fixedfulcrum; a link connecting said lever and trap door remote from itshinged edge, spring means biasing said lever toward trap door openingposition; a second lever engaging the first; means to latch said secondlever to hold the first lever in trap door closing position; a cam timedto rotate once for each article passing said trap door; a third leverpivoted coaxially with the first and having a follower for said cam; aspring between said first and third levers to maintain said followeragainst said cam only when the second lever is latched and means tomanually release the latch of the second lever whereby the follower ismaintained against the cam by the said spring means to thereby open thetrap door once per cam revolution.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,010,520 Pringle Dec. 5, 1911 1,999,838 Iversen Apr. 30, 1935 2,229,638Chamberlin et a1 Jan. 28, 1941 2,251,596 OMalley Aug. 5, 1941 2,367,416Matthews Jan. 16, 1945 2,533,422 Braun Dec. 12,. 1950

